Create, Pitch, Sell

She survived a horrific childhood only to wind up trapped in a bitter, loveless marriage. Determined to find independence BJ Donovan, a French Quarter restaurateur, pens a work of fiction. Her book is a hit. But not for long. While interest in her debut crime novel continues to wane she comes up with a plan for how to top the bestseller list again. Using her position as a young executive chef to blend in with the community, she embarks on a killing spree, by means of witchcraft, and uses details of the murders to begin the first book in a thriller series.

Excerpt from Chapter 1:

Virgil awoke late at night to find his wife gone. He kicked off cold and clammy bedcovers, box springs screeched when he got up. A steady breeze, weighed down with humidity, carried the vanilla-like fragrance of Joe-Pye weed and the barely audible sound of laughter through an open window. He stood behind fluttering white sheers and watched Marie trot across the back yard, her long black curls bouncing with each footfall. The opaque security light above the barn doors cast an eerie pallor through the limbs of an old elm draped with Spanish moss. He noticed her belly, in the narrow space between her shirt and shorts, seemed rounder than normal. He lazily scratched his ass, wondered what the hell she’s doing.

A homicide detective’s interest in her goes beyond a string of unsolved murders. BJ can’t allow him to get too close. Under the guise of a book signing tour for her debut novel, she makes monthly trips to twelve specific cities in order to gather enough real-life material to complete her episodic thriller which she believes has bestseller potential. Will she also find the freedom she seeks? Or will she spend the rest of her life paying a debt she never owed?

January, St. Augustine, Florida
BJ goes on a murderous rampage after someone at a writers retreat steals her handwritten manuscript of a new novel containing details of a true crime that were never made public.

February, Savannah, Georgia
With a little help from BJ, Alma LeJeune exacts revenge on the descendants of the people who had willingly participated in the unfair conviction and public hanging of a young Irish woman in 1735.

March, Key West, Florida
Made the brunt of a sick joke by The Six, a group of snobbish writers, BJ shows them what make believe is all about when she uses the legendary Robby the Doll, a child’s toy created by black magic, to hit back.

April, Charleston, South Carolina
Possessed by the ghost of a female serial killer from the 1800s, Alma drugs traveling businessmen then feeds their dismembered body parts to her pet, a great white alligator.

May, Salem, Massachusetts
A strange conversation between BJ and the descendant of a Salem witch leads Alma to believe that BJ is being drawn into a web of lies and deceit.

June, Cincinnati, Ohio
BJ grows suspicious of an elderly woman’s true motives after she asks her to help get her granddaughter away from her cruel husband, a notorious gangster.

July, Chicago, Illinois
After a devastating hurricane hits New Orleans BJ decides to get on the road and finish her promotional tour, unaware someone is lying in wait.

August, Portland, Oregon
BJ is about to wage war on two animal abusers when something extraordinary happens.